HTML entities are decoded inconsistently when pasting

Phenomenon

When pasting content that contains HTML entities (<, >, &, etc.), the entities may be decoded to actual characters or preserved as entities inconsistently. This causes issues with special characters.

Reproduction example

1. Copy text containing HTML entities (e.g., <div>)
2. Paste into contenteditable element
3. Observe the DOM

Observed behavior

• Entities may be decoded: <div> appears in DOM
• Or entities may be preserved: <div> in DOM
• Behavior is inconsistent
• Special characters may be lost or changed

Expected behavior

• Entity handling should be consistent
• Or behavior should be predictable
• Special characters should be preserved correctly
• Encoding/decoding should be explicit

Browser Comparison

• Chrome/Edge: Entity handling inconsistent (this case)
• Firefox: Similar inconsistent behavior
• Safari: Entity handling varies

Notes and possible direction for workarounds

• Normalize entity encoding after paste
• Decode or encode entities explicitly
• Handle special characters carefully
• Document expected entity behavior